Tajik journalist faces 16 years in jail

New York, September 29, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing imprisonment of
journalist Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov and is dismayed by prosecutors' call for a
hefty prison term on defamation and other charges.

Ismoilov, a regional
reporter for the Dushanbe-based independent weekly Nuri Zindagi, was arrested last November on separate counts of
defamation, insult, and incitement to hatred over an article titled, "Asht
is being destroyed. Who is responsible for it?" In the article, published in
the August 2010 issue of Nuri Zindagi,
Ismoilov criticized government and law enforcement officials in the Asht
district in the northern Sogd region of Tajikistan, and cited corruption,
abuse of office, and mismanagement of funds, CPJ research showed.

If convicted, Ismoilov will be the first journalist
imprisoned in Tajikistan
on defamation and insult charges in the last decade, CPJ research found.

At a hearing today, prosecutors asked the court to convict
Ismoilov and sentence him to 16 years in jail, the independent regional news
website Fergana Newsreported. Mukhabbat Dzhurayeva,
Ismoilov's lawyer, told the court that investigators had failed to prove the
journalist's guilt, and asked them to drop the charges and release him, Fergana News reported. Ismoilov has
denied any wrongdoing.The next
court hearing is scheduled for October 3.

"The Tajik authorities are using the threat of prison to
intimidate journalists and shield officials from public scrutiny," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney.
"Instead of demanding a preposterous 16-year sentence for Makhmadyusuf
Ismoilov, the prosecution should drop all charges against him immediately."

Ismoilov's trial began in June, and 12 officials were named
as plaintiffs in the case, news reports said. At the second
court hearing, several witnesses who had initially testified against the
journalist changed their statements to his defense, Radio Ozodi, the Tajik
service of the U.S.
government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported.

Ismoilov has consistently criticized regional authorities,
law enforcement agencies, and the judiciary for alleged mismanagement, poor
social and economic policies, and abuse of power, Nuriddin Karshiboyev, head of
the Dushanbe-based National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan told
CPJ. Earlier this month, local and
international press freedom advocates wrote an open letter to Tajik President
Emomali Rahmon, calling on him to ensure a fair trial for Ismoilov, the radio
station reported.